Midori Francis

Midori Anne Iwama (born April 16, 1994), known professionally as Midori Francis, is an American actress. She began her career in theatre, earning NYIT, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards. She received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her role as Lily in the Netflix series Dash & Lily (2020). She also starred as Dr. Mika Yasuda in Grey's Anatomy (2022–2024). In 2026, she starred in the body horror film Saccharine, for which her performance received critical acclaim and a Special Jury Mention at the Overlook Film Festival.

Early life and education

Francis grew up in Rumson, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Joanne and Ken Iwama, the current Vice President of Indiana University Northwest. Named after her paternal grandmother, Francis is of Japanese descent on her father's side and Irish and Italian on her mother's. On growing up in a predominantly white town in the 1990s and early 2000s, she commented "I was teased a lot for being Asian, I was bullied, made to feel like I was ugly or weird". She identifies as a Hapa.

Francis attended Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. She went on to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2014. She studied abroad in London, training with Tim Carroll and performing in a production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare's Globe.

Career

Upon graduating from Rutgers, Francis landed stage roles in regional productions of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Peter and the Starcatcher as Nina and Molly respectively. She won Best Actress at the 2016 New York Innovative Theatre Awards as well as receiving a Best Ensemble nomination for her role as Meghan in the Off-Broadway play Connected at 59E59 Theaters.

From 2017 to 2018, she was in the original cast of The Wolves, garnering ensemble awards at the Obie and Drama Desk Awards. At the latter, Francis was also nominated for Outstanding Actress in Play for her role in Ming Peiffer's Usual Girls.

In 2018, Francis made her feature film debut in Ocean's 8. The following year, she appeared in South Mountain and Good Boys. In October 2019, it was announced Francis would star in her first lead role opposite Austin Abrams in the 2020 Netflix Christmas romantic comedy series Dash & Lily, an adaptation of the young adult novel by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.

Francis was included in the creative process, as elements from her real life background and experiences were incorporated. For her performance, Francis was nominated for Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program at the 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Francis appeared alongside Victoria Justice in the Netflix fantasy comedy film Afterlife of the Party in 2021. In March 2021, it was announced Francis had joined the main cast of the HBO Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, which premiered later that year.

In January 2022, Francis was set to star in the TV thriller film Unseen with Jolene Purdy, helmed by Yoko Okumura in her feature directing debut. In July 2022, it was announced that Francis was cast as a series regular for season 19 of ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy. She announced she would be leaving the show in 2024.

In December 2024 it was announced Francis would star in the film Saccharine helmed by Relic director Natalie Erika James.

In 2025, Francis returned to the stage in the Classic Stage Company production of Bus Stop, playing Cherie. Her performance received positive notices, with The New York Times calling it "the show's standout performance."

In 2026, Saccharine was released, and Francis' leading performance received critical acclaim. She received a Special Jury Mention at the Overlook Film Festival for her performance.

In 2026, it was announced that Francis would be starring alongside Samira Wiley and Sophia Bush in the upcoming Indie film, The Let Go.

Personal life

She is vocal about Asian representation in media and speaks frequently about her experience as an Asian-American in Hollywood.

She identifies as queer.

Filmography

Film

• 2018 — Ocean's 8 — April
• 2019 — South Mountain — Emme
• 2019 — Good Boys — Lily
• 2021 — Afterlife of the Party — Lisa — Streaming film
• 2023 — Unseen — Emily
• 2026 — Saccharine — Hana

Television

• 2016 — Younger — Lin — Episode: "The Marshmallow Experiment "
• 2017 — Gotham — Emma Hsueh — Episode: "A Dark Knight: A Day in the Narrows"
• 2018 — Divorce — Katie — Episode: "Going, Going... Gone"
• 2018 — Paterno — Riot Interviewee — Television film
• 2019 — The Birch — Lanie Bouchard — Web series; recurring role, 8 episodes
• 2020 — Dash & Lily — Lily — Lead role
• 2021–2024 — The Sex Lives of College Girls — Alicia — Main role (season 1, 3)Guest role (season 2)
• 2022–2024 — Grey's Anatomy — Dr. Mika Yasuda — Main role; (seasons 19–season 21)37 episodes

Stage

• 2014 — Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike — Nina — Syracuse Stage, Syracuse
• 2015 — Peter and the Starcatcher — Molly — Wells Theatre, Norfolk, Virginia
• 2016 — Connected — Meghan — 59E59 Theaters, Off-Broadway
• 2017−2018 — The Wolves — No. 8 — The Duke on 42nd Street, Off-Broadway; Mitzi Newhouse Theater, Off-Broadway; New York Stage and Film, Vassar
• 2019 — Before the Meeting — Nicole — Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, Massachusetts
• 2019 — Usual Girls — Kyeoung — Roundabout Theatre Company, Off-Broadway
• 2025 — Bus Stop — Cherie — Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway
• 2026 — Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia — Sylvia — Geffen Playhouse, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations

• 2016 — New York Innovative Theatre Awards — Outstanding Actress — Connected — Won
• 2016 — New York Innovative Theatre Awards — Outstanding Ensemble — Connected — Nominated
• 2017 — Obie Awards — Distinguished Performance by an Ensemble — The Wolves — Won
• 2017 — Drama Desk Awards — Outstanding Ensemble — The Wolves — Won
• 2019 — Drama Desk Awards — Outstanding Actress in a Play — Usual Girls — Nominated
• 2021 — Daytime Emmy Awards — Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program — Dash & Lily — Nominated
• 2026 — Overlook Film Festival — Special Jury Mention (Performance) — Saccharine — Won